U is for Uinta
Chipmunk! Or ‘Hidden Forest”
chipmunks, are outgoing cousins of the ground squirrel; preferring the pine and
fir forests in the higher elevations of Arizona as opposed to the desert floor,
where I live. Fortunately, I have the opportunity to observe them every summer
during fishing and camping season!
Contrary to
wary interaction with people (stealing or begging for handouts), they are
actually solitary fellows and quite aggressive to other members of their species.
They spend the winter in burrows under rocks or shrubs and the summer stocking their
burrows with food for the winter. They are known to have a number of
vocalizations, the most distinct of which is a sharp “chirp” that can go on for
fifteen minutes! (Issuing the morning news, maybe?) They issue a low ‘chuck’ when fleeing a
predator or the scene of a crime such as thievery! (They
find corn chips irresistible).
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| Built-in shopping bags! |
At times
when our campsite is quiet and everyone else is off fishing or exploring, I
love to read a book under a tree. But one such afternoon the serenity was
shattered when I received a direct hit by a pine cone from the branches
above. I stumbled to my feet in shock, had the tree rebelled against my presence? A small lump quickly formed on the top of my
head as I warily scanned the towering pine in search of the offender. And then
I spied it on a branch about four feet above my height, a chipmunk sat
gleefully chirping – and snickering, I
swear!
It can be
difficult to tell the difference between a chipmunk and a squirrel and one way
to tell (that is if you can get close enough to one being still), is that the
chipmunk has five stripes running down its back, while the squirrel has
thirteen. But an easier way to tell is that the chipmunk runs with its tail
straight up!
How's everyone doing? Still hangin' in? We're heading down the backstretch now - five to go! Happy Friday, everyone :-)
Look how cute! Now this is much better. :D
ReplyDeleteWhat you said about them being aggressive to other members of their species reminded me...I made pinecone bird feeders with my nephews on Wednesday for the birds. We hung them in the trees and yesterday I noticed the peanut butter and bird seed was all gone. Last night, I watched five squirrels in the tree in my front yard and they were eating the goodies off those pinecones. And when one snuck up on another, they fought. I had never seen that before.
Sounds like great fun with the nephews! Amazing how fast the critters devour handouts, huh? Yeah, they get into some pretty dramatic scrapes over food or territory, eesh!
DeleteChipmunks are so cute! I know they can be a pest, but when you're as adorable as that, you can get away with it.
ReplyDeleteThat's for sure! ;-)
DeleteThey look like cheeky, but cute, chappies! Clever too. Yeah, I bet you couldn't be too mad at him.
ReplyDeleteNope, not even when they pop out of an unattended corn chip bag and scare me half to death! :-)
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